The Essence of Butterbeer
by Heather14
Summary: Hermione and Pansy get into yet another argument, but this time, it's a challenging one. The Slytherins say that Hermione doesn't know how to have fun. But can she, and others, prove everyone wrong in a "Girls' Night Out" contest consisting of female part


The Essence of Butterbeer  
  
"Girls' Night Out" was finally underway. No, it wasn't a Hogsmeade weekend; and that was the beauty of it. Ten girls from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin had deliberately got together just to chill out. Well, it was more of a bet, really.  
  
"I know how to have fun!" Hermione retorted, picking up her books and looking Pansy in the face.  
  
"Oh please!" Pansy laughed mercilessly. "I have more fun in one finger than you do in your whole body!"  
  
All the Slytherin girls' laughed heartily at Pansy's response.  
  
"I'm sure," another Gryffindor girl said, rolling her eyes openly.  
  
"Stuff it, Kalgris; you definitely weren't involved in this conversation," Isis Virtanie, one of Pansy's friends interjected.  
  
"And I dunno who invited you into it!" Josie Taylor, another Gryffindor, said, sizing Isis up and down.  
  
"OK, everyone!" a Ravenclaw girl said, storming into the middle of the Slytherin/Gryffindor crowd. She showed her prefect badge as though to say that it would be very wise not to harm her in any way. "I don't know if you're aware of the fact that there's only a ten minute break between classes?"  
  
"We could be," Fruma Sara, yet another of Pansy's gang of girls, smirked.  
  
"Then I suggest that you at least pretend you know this and leave at once before teachers presume that there's a whole bunch of chaos out here. You all are crowding the hallways and the fourth years can't get into the Charms classroom with you all in the way," the prefect said primitively.  
  
Fruma was about to retaliate, most likely physically from her facial expression, but Faye held her back. "Fine we'll leave," she agreed. "But mark my words mud blood," the Slytherin said, shifting to see Hermione, "we'll finish all of this later."  
  
Hermione gave a half disgruntled, half angry look at the Slytherin gang before her and the Gryffindors left to class.  
  
I think that's when the idea struck my friend, Tzeitel Karlin, one of the Hufflepuff fourth years waiting for the corridor to be cleared out. When classes were all over and we were eating dinner in the Great Hall, she had whispered to me everything she saw that day.  
  
"I mean, wouldn't you think it nice that for once, and just once, all the girls in every house could get together and simply.chill out? Have fun, ya know?" Tzeitzel said.  
  
"That would be cool," I said, thinking. "But, I don't suppose all the girls in every house would appreciate that idea."  
  
"Oh c'mon, Dalasana! I mean, what's the harm in trying?" she whined.  
  
"Um.are you talking harm physically or mentally?" I smirked jokingly.  
  
"I'm serious. Should we try?"  
  
I said we should. I was being stupid. Moronic. Idiotic. Everything. I mean, seriously. It was a nice thought, but it was stupid. We were stupid. Moronic. Idiotic. Everything.When Tzeitel told me that they were going to finish off the fight in the corridor later, I knew that would probably mean later on that day. Slytherins aren't the most patient of people. We decided that, since it's the Slytherins who were picking the fight, to ask them when they wanted to finish it off. You know what? We were being stupid, moronic, idiotic Hufflepuffs.  
  
"And why in the hell is this your concern? Gonna tell a head of house about what happened, are ya?" Draco inquired when we first got near the dungeons. We noticed he had four cronies with him this time: Crabbe and Goyle, and who we later found out to be Ben Morley and Martius Tanden.  
  
"No, of course not!" I said quickly. "Please, I just want to ask about it is all -"  
  
"Nose out," Ben said stiffly.  
  
"Please!" Tzeitzel pleaded alongside me, suddenly thinking up an idea. "If you'll just let us warn them ahead of time -"  
  
"Hold on a second. Warn them?" Martius said. "Warn them about what?"  
  
"We over heard the Gryffindors say something about having a trick up their sleeves," I thought up.  
  
I guess that's how we got let into their common room. It was the weirdest place I've ever seen. Weird as in.spooky weird.  
  
"The hell are two Hufflepuffs doing in our common room?" Isis said, cracking her fingers menacingly.  
  
"We.er.we wanted to ask you about the fight," Tzeitzel said shyly.  
  
"What about it? Wanna start one up?" Faye smirked from a chair by the fireplace.  
  
"No, no, no.that's not what we came here for," I stuttered.  
  
"Of course it's not," Pansy said. "You're Hufflepuffs. You don't pick fights, you run from them."  
  
The girls' snickered. Tzeitzel and I stayed quiet for a while.  
  
"Well, what brought you by here, then?" Faye asked.  
  
"We just wanted to know how the whole fight started is all," I said nonchalantly.  
  
"What's it to you?" Isis said suspiciously.  
  
"Just because.well, we were in that line of fourth years," Tzeitzel started, thinking it best just to tell the story. "And we overheard you all talking about 'fun' and who has more of it; things like that."  
  
"Yeah, that's part of it," Pansy said, stepping away from her place by a couch. "C'mere and sit," she ordered.  
  
Dumbfounded, Tzeitzel and I looked at each other and back again, our lead- like legs slowly moving towards the spot on the couch that Pansy indicated.  
  
"Go ahead, ask away," Pansy said lazily.  
  
"Well, er." I began, looking at Tzeitzel for some help. "What was the other reason for the fight?"  
  
"Oh yeah," Isis said. "I remember that part -"  
  
"And I'm telling it," Pansy interrupted. "Now then.yeah.Draco and I were having another row with Potter and Weasley near the end of Professor McGonagall's class. We did some dissing and then the old bat decides to publicly display our grades from the last test. Well, the weasel decides that he's got to yell out mine and Draco's scores, and then show off the mud blood's grade just to spice things up, right?"  
  
Tzeitzel and I listened the whole time, quite intrigued, even if Pansy was breezing through the story slothfully.  
  
"So then we got out of class; I was supposed to go to Arithmancy.same class bucktooth's got.and when I saw my girls waiting for me by the Charms corridor -" she indicated Isis and Faye, "we decided to get into a fight about it.y'know.just for fun. So I pushed her, made her drop her books, yaddah, yaddah, yaddah, you know the rest."  
  
"So you were basically challenging Granger to have more fun, was that it?" I asked.  
  
"I guess that could be part of the truth behind it, yeah," Pansy nodded.  
  
"Well, we've got a compromise for you," Tzeitzel announced, grinning from ear to ear at the prospect.  
  
"I don't like how she's smiling," Faye said.  
  
"Shhh!" Pansy said, "What's your compromise?"  
  
"Well, Dalasana and I were thinking that instead of you girls and those Gryffindors fighting over the 'fun' thing later, we should have a contest to prove it. And it won't be just between you guys, but every girl in every house. We all go out, let's say this Saturday night, and do everything Hogsmeade has to offer! Just have fun. By the end of the night, we'll know which house has the most fun," Tzeitzel said.  
  
The way she said it sounded like the stupidest, most moronic, idiotic thing, but they bought it. I finally figured that they were the stupid, moronic, idiotic ones. And now I'm trying to figure out why Tzeitzel and I weren't Sorted into Ravenclaw.  
  
So Wednesday was mail day in the Great Hall, and every single girl present at breakfast got a letter about the whole "fun" contest. Only a few people came to us for the challenge. The ones that had to come did: Pansy, Faye, Isis, Fruma, Hermione, Josie, and Arista. Then there was Ben Morley, who looked over at one of the Slytherin girls' letters, and decided that he should be there no matter what. Then a few Ravenclaw girls came: the prefect from the day before, Phoebe Preston, and two Ravenclaw girls, both second years, most likely best of friends: Alejandra Nyx and Shelly Evil. Everyone else probably decided that a day of fun with the Slytherins probably meant the Slytherins having fun bashing everyone's heads around and placing dung bombs in their pants; that or they just didn't care. Tzeitzel and I were the only Hufflepuffs going.  
  
And so the day has come, and Tzeitzel and I are sitting here waiting with Phoebe, Alejandra, and Shelly for the real stars of this whole "fun showdown". We're deciding what to do over a few bottles of butterbeer first, then the games begin. When this "fun thing" is over, I'll tell you what happens. Later Diary, Dalasana  
  
*  
  
"Done already?" Shelly asked in sarcastic innocence. Alejandra giggled. "Yeah, I mean, that was like, what? Only five minutes of writing?"  
  
"Ten?" Tzeitzel suggested.  
  
"You talking minutes or hours?" Phoebe said as though she didn't know the time difference.  
  
"Ya know what?" Dalasana pledged, after taking a swig of butterbeer. "If I can write an entry in my diary before the 'showdown stars' get here, that can only mean one thing."  
  
"You write fast?" Alejandra suggested over an escaped giggle.  
  
"Well, that.and another thing.so it means two things," Dalasana contemplated.  
  
"That.er.they're too slow?" Shelly asked with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Precisely," Dalasana smiled, going for another sip of butterbeer.  
  
"No, seriously," Phoebe said. "What's it mean?"  
  
Dalasana shrugged.  
  
"Good 'un, Dallie," Tzeitzel said, rolling her eyes and raising her butterbeer mug to her mouth, while Alejandra, Shelly, and Phoebe giggled uncontrollably.  
  
"What's so funny?" a distant voice had questioned. There was no doubt from the hint of menace that lingered in those words, that the voice belonged to none other than Pansy Parkinson.  
  
"Nothing much," Tzeitzel said, looking at her invitingly. "Come on and sit down. Where's everyone else?"  
  
"I dunno about the Gryffindors; probably forfeited," Pansy suggested smugly.  
  
"Guess again," another voice scoffed.  
  
"Ah, so you showed up after all, Granger," Pansy said carelessly.  
  
"See your whole group hasn't," Hermione observed.  
  
"Guess you can't see well, then," Isis smirked from behind the Gryffindors, while she, Faye, Fruma, and Ben pushed their way in.  
  
"Hold on," Josie said. "What's a boy doing in this 'Girls' Night Out' contest thingy?"  
  
"What's it to you?" he asked defensively. "Cared to come. Does it really matter?"  
  
"Actually, y -"  
  
"No, it doesn't," Hermione said, interrupting Arista mid-sentence. "Doesn't make a difference. We could still easily win this 'fun' thing."  
  
"Ok, you guys," Tzeitzel said. "Just do us all a favor. Try not to think of all this as a contest; rather, think of it as an opportunity for us to get to know each other better. That's what this whole thing is all about."  
  
"Getting to know each other better?" Faye snickered in disbelief.  
  
"Yeah, y'know, beyond the prejudice in the castle," Dalasana explained.  
  
"And tell me, what's the fun in that?" Pansy blinked.  
  
*  
  
Hello again, Diary -  
  
Thinking only of the first hour of this night makes me wonder how I'm expected to survive it. We came over at 8:30 pm, and the Slytherins and Gryffindors were a little late and arrived at a quarter of nine. It's only 9:45 pm.Guess what? I WANT OUT OF THIS!!!  
  
No one is listening, behaving, or anything.they're just.competing! That's all they think of this as, is a competition.  
  
"So, what are we doing first?" Josie asked.  
  
"We actually don't know," Shelly confirmed. "We wanted to sit here for a while and chat over a few butterbeers if that was okay, and then think of what we could do."  
  
"Sounds fine by me," Arista said.  
  
"Well, go on and have a sit," Tzeitzel offered. "I'll order some drinks."  
  
"I guess that's okay." Pansy thought out loud. "I mean, we're not paying for it, right?"  
  
"Er.right," I said, now searching my robe pocket for a galleon or two.  
  
"You might as well sit while Tzeitzel's ordering drinks," Phoebe smiled patiently.  
  
"Who?" Fruma said, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Er.Tzeitzel. Tzeitzel Karlin?" Alejandra said.  
  
"Oh, right.Karlin," Faye nodded. I finally figured that because they went on a last name basis so much, that's the only name that the Slytherins could really address us by.  
  
"And that's a rule that we're going to make for tonight," I announced. "Everyone will go on a first name basis. It's more personal, and we'll get to know each other better that way, okay?"  
  
"But we don't care to know anyone personally," Isis reminded me.  
  
"Well.er.could you just pretend you do? For tonight, anyway?" I asked humbly.  
  
"Fine," Ben sighed. "But only for tonight."  
  
That was probably the first and only agreement that whole hour. We just talked about nothing, and the Slytherins stood for, like, half an hour before deciding to move a near by table somewhat near ours. They refused to sit at the same table as the Gryffindors because they were "competitors". I mean, fine, when it comes to the House Cup, but, geez, even Hermione couldn't figure out the whole true purpose for this evening!  
  
And so it went and continues to go on at this very moment, where I can hardly concentrate on what I'm writing because no one -  
  
"WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT UP!?!?" Dalasana screamed, slamming her diary, unaware that everyone's eyes in the whole of The Three Broomsticks was upon her now. "I mean, you're all acting like a bunch of idiots.I mean that in a good way.?" she said in a small voice when the Slytherins glared at her threateningly.  
  
"I.er.what she just said," Shelly spoke up. "I mean, really.honestly, this situation isn't being resolved maturely."  
  
The silence after Shelly's sentence was unbearably awkward; all of the Slytherins were looking at her through piercing stares, while the Gryffindors looked at them quietly.  
  
Finally, "I agree," Alejandra sighed. "This isn't getting us anywhere. I mean, hasn't anyone figured out the whole purpose of tonight?"  
  
"And it wasn't to win," Hermione said hurriedly, as she saw those words forming on the tip on Pansy's tongue. "I know what the whole point was," she confirmed, looking down in shame as though she broke the unwritten rules of the night.  
  
"Me too," Arista said. "To see how well we could all get along, getting past differences, and seeing how much fun we could have without being prejudiced."  
  
"To have fun with each other - that was the real competition for tonight," Josie chimed in, contributing to Arista's thoughts.  
  
"Could we have it that way, then?" Tzeitzel asked, in an almost pleading manner.  
  
"No," Fruma said, making everyone, including the Slytherins, jump.  
  
Dalasana sighed. "And why the hell not?"  
  
"Just because.that's how we've always been, and that's how we'll always be," Fruma smirked.  
  
"Even out of school?" Tzeitzel shot.  
  
"Tell me, have you ever heard of a former Slytherin and former Gryffindor ever getting along inside or outside of school?" Fruma asked hotly, knowing that right after she'd asked that, she won the argument.  
  
"That's not the important thing," Phoebe pressed on. "The important thing is your judgment on that. Do you think treatment such as that is fair or not?"  
  
"Fair," all the Slytherins said.  
  
"Why?" Alejandra said, continuing to interrogate them. "Because it's tradition?"  
  
"Aren't Slytherins supposed to be better than tradition? Leaders, not followers?" Shelly asked.  
  
That question was the ticket.  
  
"Well.maybe.depends." Pansy stuttered.  
  
"Depends on what?" was the rhetorical. "Why not be the leaders now, and do something new and different? Let go of your personal judgments and grudges for once and have fun!" Tzeitzel said, her eyes glowing.  
  
*  
  
Remember what I wrote before? Don't. It's 10:30 pm right now. We just settled back into The Three Broomsticks. We as in, all of us! I'm dead serious. Tzeitzel's last comment made everyone think, and we all actually started to have fun!!! Well, it was either Tzeitzel's comment or all the butterbeer we drank that influenced everyone.but still. Isn't that just off the wall cool!? We went to Honeydukes, and got a few Sugar Quills and Chocolate Frogs.you know. a little bit of everything.  
  
So now we're settled back in, all at the same table, just chatting away about absolutely nothing! I feel kind of bad for Ben, though, because he has no place in this whole 'girl talk' fete. I wouldn't worry, though, because he and Phoebe are in the same year, so if Phoebe gets bored, then they'll have a bit to talk about. She talked a lot with him already, anyway. So I guess the Ravenclaws and Slytherins are doing pretty well socially.  
  
I don't know why Tzeitzel and I were so worried about tonight; I mean, everything's gone pretty okay. I just wonder if thing's will be this way at school on Monday.  
  
Out! Dalasana  
  
*  
  
"Truth or dare, then, Ben?" Hermione smiled.  
  
"Truth," Ben shot.  
  
"Okay. Is it true that you said before that you wouldn't mind da - ?"  
  
"No, no, no, no, no. Dare!" Ben said triumphantly, in a procrastinating fashion.  
  
"Okay. I dare you." Hermione thought, "to tell me the truth."  
  
"Oh, that's not fair!" he said, feeling defeated.  
  
"It is.it's a dare after all," Isis smirked devilishly.  
  
"Go on and answer," Hermione said, all smiles now. "Is it true that you said before that you wouldn't mind dating Phoebe?"  
  
All eyes went upon Ben; Phoebe reddened with curiosity.  
  
"Maybe," Ben started.  
  
"Invalid answer! Yes or no!" Alejandra said, sounding like an automated machine.  
  
"Alright, alright, fine!" Ben said, when the laughter that began to consume the bar died down. "Yes, I did. In fourth year, when I had first starting playing Beater for the Slytherin team and hit a bludger her way, one game."  
  
"Oh, I remember that game! I hated you for that," Phoebe laughed. " Did you really start playing Quidditch for your housemates in fourth year, too?" she said in awe, starting another deep conversation with Ben.  
  
Dalasana observed that they might have more in common than they thought.  
  
"Alright, Faye, your turn," Josie announced. "Truth or dare?"  
  
"Well, since we have a whole new way of playing, thanks to Hermione for the whole 'Dare to tell the truth' thing." Faye stated, while everyone starting laughing again, "I guess I'm trapped. Dare."  
  
"I dare you to tell me one good quality you see in every Gryffindor here," Josie said.  
  
The whole table fell silent at once.  
  
"Okay," Faye said, getting ready to answer. "Arista - from what I know of you now, because of tonight - " she shot a warm smile towards Dalasana and Tzeitzel, "you seem very.modest and.nice, ya know?"  
  
"Thanks," Arista smiled, whole-heartedly.  
  
"Josie," Faye continued on, after nodding curtly at Arista, "you're very outgoing.I mean, if there was a club out here, you'd be all over the freakin' place, I'm sure."  
  
Everyone chortled once more. Josie took Faye's compliment to the heart, as she knew that Faye wouldn't have said that at any other time; she wasn't interested in having Muggle-born friends.  
  
"And Hermione." The whole table fell quiet. "You're.smart; I mean, very.for a Mud - er.Muggle-born," she corrected hastily.  
  
"Thank you. I appreciate that," Hermione said shyly.  
  
"You all better; that was hard to do," Faye said with a smile.  
  
"Allie," Pansy said to Alejandra.  
  
"Truth," she stated.  
  
.And that's how the night went. No prejudice, or anything - just pure laughter, conversation, pigging out, and fun. And I guess that's what brought us all together, was our differences, because there were a lot more of those than similarities that united us for a night. There was probably only one true refreshing similarity that made the whole meeting all right. And I guess that's the essence of butterbeer. 


End file.
